Stripping harvester



July 8, male G CORY 2,248,0fi6 STRIPPING HARVESTER 2 Sheets-Sheet l Original Filed Nov. 21,

Inventor Attorneys July 8,1941, V. H. T. com 2,248,066

"STR'IPPING HARVESTEH Original Filed No v. 21, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet, 2'

Inventor Harry 7720/7703v Cory Attorneys Patented July 8, 1941 STRIPPING HARVESTER Harry Thomas Cory, Washington, D. 0.

Original application November 21, 1939, Serial No. 305,520. Divided and this application April 9, 1940, Serial N0. 328,678

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 O. G. 757) 2 Claims.

This application is made under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended by the act of April 30, 1928, and the invention herein described and claimed, if patented, may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This is a divisional application of my co-pending application for patent, Serial No. 305,520, filed November 21, 1939. a

This invention relates to a machine for stripping grains from cereal stalks, and is more particularly concerned with new and useful improvements of the stripping harvester described and claimed in the patent issued to me on April 4, 1939, No. 2,152,730.

One of the objects of the present invention is to improve the structural combinations of the device described in the abovementioned patent for more efficient and practical operation. The embodiment described in said patent, while broadly covering the essential features of my invention, is subject to excessive wear of certain parts and is not easily repaired.

With the above in mind, I have now provided an improved machine which is ordinarily adaptable to mass production, which is more positively operating, easier to'repair, and more efficient in operation. The essential features of these improvements comprise a simpler method of mounting the teeth and an improved method of cleaning the teeth. With the new arrangement of parts, it will be seen that the machine may be constructed in units, from which any desired capacity of machine may be fabricated. Alsothe new construction enables the machine to be shipped in a knock-down form and various parts thereof may be nested together so as to occupy a minimum of space in shipping.

The following description, considered together with the accompanying drawings, will. disclose this invention morefully, its construction, arrangements, and operations of parts, and further objects and advantages thereof will be apparent.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of an embodiment of this invention as it appears attached to the front of an ordinary farm tractor, the tractor being shown fragmentarily.

Figure 2' is a top plan view of the embodiment detached from the tractor with parts broken away.

Referring with more particularity to the drawings in which like numerals designate like parts,

the device is mounted between two end frames l0, 10. These two end frames are connected by a lateral girder ll, sufficiently stiffened. This girder is connected to a bracket l3 on the front of the tractor by means of horizontal bars l2, operating in vertical slots M in said brackets. While ordinarily only two of such connectionsare necessary, any additional number may be' employed depending upon the size of the machine. The device is preferably supported on the ground by means of castors l5, suitably connected to the framework. It is preferable for'the castors to be disposed just rearward of the center of gravity; Stanchions iii are secured to the frame of the machine and are connected by links IT to an operating lever IS on the tractor, which lever is provided with a dog l9 adapted to register with a notched segment 20. By these means the elevation of the device may be adjusted. Also, since the center of gravity is forward of the castors l5, the link I! is always in tension.

Between the end frames H), II], thecylinder assembly 2| is disposed. This cylinder assembly is made up of sections which will be hereinafter more fully described. The cylinder assembly is connected at each end to a double flanged ring 22 and is thus supported on trunnion rollers 23. The trun-' nion rollers are mounted between U-brackets 24, one side of which is fixed to the respective end frame. The rollers 23 are adapted to fit between the flanges of the rings 22 and the construction is such that the rollers absorb any axial thrust delivered to it by the flanges. .In this mannerfthe cylinder assembly 2| is freely rotatable andis supported solely on the end frames by said rollers 23. These rollers also reduce the friction in operation.

Within the cylinder assembly 2|, there is mounted an eccentric shaft 25, which is secured to the end frames Ill, Ill. The direction ofeccentricity should be such as to afford an optimum operation of the machine through the crops to be harvested. To said shaft 25 the stripping teeth 26 in'the form of combs 21 are revolvably mounted. The combs are mounted 'as units by means of bands 28, there being at least two bands for each comb. These bands 28 should be stiff and, for this reason, it is preferable to make them in two parts, as illustrated, depending upon the connection to the combs to hold them securely about the shaft 25. This connection should be demountable and may be accomplished by means of bolts and nuts 29, so that repairs or substitutions may be easily made. The teeth 26 of the teeth in even further than was possible in the construction shown in my prior patent in viewof the additional distance permitted by reason of the diameter of the cylinders 3|, so that there is not simply a point, but an appreciable angle in the rotation of .the cylinder .through which the teeth of the comb do not project from the cylinder. Within this distance the collecting means may be disposed, which means comprises a trough 35 within which a conveyor screw 35 through which the grain is stripped and carried, so that there will be no loss of grain at the ends. Such losses may ordinarily occur from the movement of the grain or from the wind blowing across the cylinder. It is also desirable to provide casings 53 extending fromthe plates 52 about the forward part of the end rings 22 to prevent grain in stalks from contacting this part 1 of the device and clogging the machinery.

An additional improvement is the provision of means to right any fallen or lodgedstalks into the path of the stripping teeth. Otherwise, such lodged grain may escape the action of the ma- 1 chine entirely. These means consist of a bar 54 disposed parallel and in front of the cylinder assembly 2|, supported by a pair of arms 55 f hinged to the frame of the machine, substanis rotatably mounted. Theforward side'of the trough 31 extends upward to act as a guide for the, grain, and the rearward side of the trough 38-extends upward a considerable distance and acts as a shield to. prevent the loss of grain coming around over the cylinder which may be thrown in various directions.

At intervals throughout the length of the cylinder assembly, means for rotating the cylinder are provided. These means simply consist of utilising-a ring 4|, illustratedin Figure 2. This ring is driven bymeans of a belt 42, which belt in ;turn is connected to a driving pulley 43, fixed to a powered shaft 44. This powered'shaft re: ceives its power from any suitable source, such as-za'take-ofl of the tractor to which thedevice is attached. In Figure 2, this is illustrated by means of abelt connection 45 to a pulley 46, fixed to the shaft 44. The belt driving means maybe substituted for any'other suitable means, such as sprocket and chain, and pinion and gear.

The screw conveyor36 is also driven from the powered shaft 44 by means of pulleys 41 and 4B and a belt connection 49. (Any other suitable grain conveying device may be utilized instead of the conveyor screw, such as an endless belt conveyor.) v r V l 1 In order tov provide easily accessible meansfor making adjustments to the parts within the cyl-v inder, apertures are provided at desired points through the cylinderwith removable cover plates 50. v r l Between each cylinder section a diverter 5| is disposed. This divertermay be attached to any suitable point on the frame and is ata distance in 'front of the cylinder sufficiently to clear the stripping teeth. The object of this diverter is to force the .grain to either side. Thisis necessary because any grain contacting the space between consecutive sections would not be stripped, and by keepingthe grain out of this area the efficiency of the machine isincreased. It is also desirable to employ diverters at the ends of the cylinder assembly and. this may be accomplished by means of end plates 52 fixed to the frame of the machine, substantially as shown. It is preferable to have these plates large enough to cover that portion of the circumference of the cylinder tially as shown. These arms are supported on the groundbymeans of castors 56. Ordinarily, it will not be necessary to use these means because lodged grain is not a usual situation. In such, cases, the bar'54 may be swung out of operating position into the position indicated by dotted. lines in'Figure 1." j

In order Rinse the bar 54 efiectively, it is necessary' to direct the machine through the field of grain in a direction oppositeto that in which the grain has fallen or become lodged. 'Ordie narily, thewstanding grain will-fall or become lodged in one general direction, due to :the ac tion of wind, rain, or other; similar factors'obtaining at the particular locality. Asftherbar 54 moves through-- the field in advance .of the stripping teeth, it contacts the grain stalksunderneath and as it slides under the inclined grain stalks, moving toward the root ends of the stalk, it elevates them sufficiently to bring the heads of grain m the path of the strippingiteeth.

Having thus described my: invention, I claim:

1. In a device-of the-character described having a horizontalrotatable cylinder and grain stripping teeth projecting'throughsaid cylinder, means for raising lodged grain stalks, comprising abar hinged to the frame of the device, normally disposed in front of the cylinder, and castors fixed to said bar for supporting it close to the ground.

2. In a harvester-of the type mentioned having a horizontal rotatable cylinder'and grain stripping teeth projecting through said .cylinder, means for raising lodged uncut'cereal stalks when the harvester is; moving in the general direction opposite to that in :whichthe stalks are lodged, said means comprising abar disposed horizontally infront of the machine forward of and below said cylinder, casters for supporting said bar over the. ground and at such 'a'distance that the bar can-contact the bottom sides of the lodged stalks and,'while advancing forward, elevate the grain heads of the lodged stalks in the path of saidstripping teeth, arms secured to said bar extending rearwardly, the rearward ends of each arm: being pivoted to the harvester at .a point where the bar-can be swung out of operative position over said cylinder.

HARRY THOMAS CORY. 

